Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary Talks Airlines, Fuel Risks

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Now, legend of the industry, the ran Eboss Michael Leary, Michael, good morning and see it.

Come with your friends. Wow, you're alone part of the industry. How would you describe yourself? Old fat, old fart? I think, yeah, I think it's fat. Seeing dinosaur.

You've seen it, O, sat Have you seen something like this before? The situation from five.

Years ago, the Russians invaded Ukraine twenty years ago, the second goal for the first golf for War nine to eleven. Yeah, this happens regularly within our industry. That's why in Ryan here we typically had eighty percent of our fuel. We're eighty percent hedged out to March twenty seven, sixty seven books of Barrow. We're in great shape, apart from the find our share price is tanked in the last two weeks because they.

Were oh they're in their line. No got the hell.

We're just reported record full your results, two hundred eight million passengers, two point two six billion euros profit after attacks, spitting off cash to shareholders, share.

Buybacks and with a bit of a look if this continues.

Although you know, we can all have a debate how long we think this will continue in the Middle East over the straight and foremost some of the flaky competitors in Europe will get taken out in carrier baskets by about September October because they're not edged on oil.

And they're borrowed up to the Rye balls in net debt.

Are you runny to buy?

We are certainly rated by cheap aircraft.

If you've got any cheap aircraft, I'm really excited. We are about to get the first ten of our Max ten aircraft fifth first fifteen of our Max ten aircraft from Boeing in the spring of twenty twenty seven. Twenty percent more seats per plane, burns twenty percent less oil. Like the technological efficiency of the new engines is remarkable, and we will take we're ordered. We've ordered three hundred

So are you interested though, in buying a carrier in its entirety aside from just their aircraft.

There is nothing in Europe you would want to buy a crap You know it will go bust, you know, in the not too distant future. Europe is inexorably, you know, moving the same direction the US did twenty years ago. Three large connecting carriers BA Lufthansat Air France KLM. They are making out like bandits at the moment because all the long haul connecting traffic has switched off the golf

That's what I wanted to ask.

It seems like the model in the US is really struggling. We had Spirrigo bankrupt. There's talk of mass consolidation among some of the other low cost carriers and this idea that every consumer is expecting higher quality and that that is what's generating a lot of the revenues. How does Ryanair succeed in that environment in that demand backdrop.

I mean the.

Problem for the last twenty years of this States is there's really been no low cost carriers anymore. I mean we copied out this formula reguly from Southwest back in the late nineteen eighties when Herb Keller, he was in each pomp, you know, Southwest of charging ten dollars fares. Now Southwest average fair last year was one hundred and forty bucks.

It's not a low fair carrier anymore.

If you had a real low fair carrier here in the States, as Ryan Air is in the US, our average fair last year was forty bucks, there would still be very strong demand because the main airlines here, I mean they've had control of the amount of supplying the market for the last twenty.

Years, and they've been pricing up.

The cost of air travel in the States is incredibly high, particularly given that you don't pay for ATC.

Could you expand into the US, No, absolutely not.

We're too busy expanding in Europe and then those countries around Europe.

There is so much growth available to us in Europe. You looked at it.

Last year we grew four percent, were the biggest airline in Europe. We grew to four percent to two hundred eight million pastors. This year had grown another four percent two hundred and sixteen million pastors. And in the next decade with these Max ten aircraft, I'm going to go

Used to be sig Maine back in the night, which used to be sim Maine, it was Brudshald, remember that.

Well, we were never brutal, we were cheap and less. We were cheap and mean.

Now we're just cheap and cheerful new aircraft on time flights, huge coman last year, our customer were record customer service metrics. Customer service satisfaction were done for eighty sixty to eighty nine percent. I never thought I'd see the day when I got more than fifty percent customer satisfaction.

But he who knew.

Can I ask you, where are Europeans traveling to this summer for vacation?

Do they want to come to America anymore? No?

No, I mean that's not yes, they do, but the problem is that the cost of longhol travels got very expensive, so you know, there isn't much competition across the Atlantic between the European legacies and the US majors. The Gulf carriers were the real disruptors for the last twenty years, and they have you know, their capacity has been halved in recent months. So a huge amount of Europeans will holiday at home in Europe this year, in Portugal and

When we're Europe run out.

Of fuel, it won't There was a real concern. I think back in April, you know, there was real worries over supply jet supply. The jet supply has now. We met with all of our fuel suppliers in Paris last week. There's no issues over jet fuel supply right now through to the end of September.

One issue in the UK. Q eight, which is the subsidiary of the state of Q eight, have.

About thirty percent market share some of the airports in the UK even they now we are resourcing that supply. Most of Europe' Jeta one supply comes from West Africa, the America is Norway, and the lifting of Russian sanctions has also eased the supply Jet one into Eastern European countries.

So you don't seem concerned with what's going on right now with the conflict in Iran.

I'm very concerned about the price of oil, but I don't believe the conflict in Iran will have any disruption on European jet supplies.

I do.

The question for US is how long will the straight sufform moves remain closed.

I mean, you know, we gave guidance this morning.

If it remains closed till March twenty twenty seven, our unit because of our on head twenty percent, our unit costs might rise, you know, mid single diges this year.

Nobody believes what do you have that too?

You can you just explain your current edge and strategy where you've.

Had that fuel. We have bought eighty percent of our jet fuel requirements.

John out to March twenty twenty seven at sixty seven dollars a barrow. So we're sitting you know, we're in great je position, great position. But no nobody really believes that the Straights Forum moves is going to stay closed until March of next year. It's just we don't know when they're going to reopen. Iran is going to starve if they don't get it ready. The Straightsform moves reopened to the next couple of months. The midterm election season kicks off in Memorial Day at the end of May.

But the timing is none of us know when the timing will be. But you know, I hope it's sooner rather than later.

But if it stays, if it becomes later, say it's stay out for something.

Happens to none of us.

The expect the straight stay closed in September, October, November. Then we are looking at our unit costs will be up about five percent. But you'll be looking at kind of airlines failing all over Europe on the way who's well, I can't really name them, but you know some of our low fare but not so low cost COMPETITIVESZ I don't think Easy Yet will fail. I mean, I don't think they make any money this year with him could well be a candidate for failure.

Air Baltic, which was recently.

Built out by the Latvian government, gave it a thirty million loan to get them from June through to August, but they have to repay the loan in August. I mean, good luck with the lasteans trying to get that repaid at the end of August.

So I think there will be casualties, But again a lot.

Depends on how I mean, you know more about this than how long the streets film remains remain closed. When can Trump declear a victory and you know, kick off the midterms, And I suspect it's probably going to be the end of May, maybe early June, but but I mean, if I was any if if my predictions were any good, I wouldn't be working in the airline business, in a proper functioning business like Bluemberg.

I'll get it right with falk Star salaries.

I'll get it right this time. Michael Larry Out start at the end, administry Buster, Ryan and Michael going to see about it.

Thanks to se